Table of Contents
Scopes and Themes
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- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
Executive Summary
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- Car rental market on sound footing, though gas prices worrisome
- The ups and downs of the business environment
- The grass is greener—on-airport vs. off-airport/local rentals
- Changing market forces
- U.S. auto manufacturers’ decline
- The structure of the car rental industry
- Government fees
- An aging population
- Four companies own the market
- Innovations—green, luxury, and off-airport business create opportunities
- The advertising landscape
- Consumer profile—older, married, richer (but there’s more to the story)
- Consumer attitudes—much room to improve
- The role of race and ethnicity
- Ending on a high note
Insight and Opportunities
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- Expanding services
- Changing consumers’ concept of rentals
- Vehicle sale options
- The future of green
- Catering to growing demographics
- Partnering with public transit agencies
- Flexible scheduling
- Reaching out to gain exposure in new media
Fast Forward Trends
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- Trust in Me
- What's it about?
- What we've seen
- Implications—not as lofty as it sounds…
- …but it’s never as easy as it sounds, either
- The building blocks towards loyalty
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- Figure 1: Car rental attitudes, March 2008
- Weekend in a Box
- One way to make your brand stand out
Market Size and Forecast
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- Key points
- Market size
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- Figure 2: Total U.S. sales and forecast of the passenger car rental business, 2002-12
- Figure 3: Total U.S. retail sales and forecast of car rental revenues, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2002-12
- Another view of market size (Auto Rental News)
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- Figure 4: Total U.S. retail sales and forecast of car rental revenues (ARN), 2002-12
- Figure 5: Total U.S. retail sales and forecast of car rental revenues (ARN), at inflation-adjusted prices, 2002-12
Competitive Context
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- Fleet size
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- Figure 6: Average U.S. car rental fleet size, total of all rental companies, 2002-07
- Rising fuel costs
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- Figure 7: U.S. regular conventional retail gasoline prices, 2002-07
- Ailing airline industry
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- Figure 8: Total U.S. domestic passengers enplaned, 2002-07
- Alternative models
- Membership-based short-term rentals
- Driver services
- Privately owned vehicles
- Public transportation
- Changing workplace technology
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- Figure 9: Work-related attitudes of travelers: importance of business travel and use of alternative methods, by number of business trips taken in past year, November 2007
Segment Performance—Personal Rentals
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- Key points
- Sales and forecast of rentals for personal use
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- Figure 10: Total U.S. retail sales of car rentals for personal use, 2002-12
Segment Performance—Rentals for Business
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- Key points
- Sales and forecast of rentals for business
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- Figure 11: Total U.S. retail sales of car rentals for business reasons, 2002-12
- Figure 12: Share of Avis, Budget, and Hertz car rental revenue that is business vs. leisure, 2007
- Figure 13: Hertz car rental sales, for business and leisure purposes, 2007
Segment Discussion: Airport vs. Off-Airport/Local
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- Key points
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- Figure 14: Hertz car rental sales, on- and off-airport, 2007
- Figure 15: Share of company car rental revenue, on- and off-airport, 2007
Retail Channels
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- Key points
- Current distribution channels
- Hertz
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- Figure 16: Hertz car rental sales, by distribution channel, 2007
- Dollar Thrifty
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- Figure 17: Dollar Thrifty car rental sales, by distribution channel, 2007
- Avis Budget Group
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- Figure 18: Avis Budget car rental sales, by distribution channel, 2007
Market Drivers
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- Market still counting heavily on Baby Boomers
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- Figure 19: Number of car rentals in 2007, by age, projection for 2012
- Figure 20: Car rental incidence and frequency, by age, 2007
- Car manufacturers’ misfortunes
- Industry structure: mergers and acquisitions
- Pressure to go greener
- Demographic trends: the silver tsunami
Leading Companies and Brand Share
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- Key points
- Market share
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- Figure 21: Car rental sales, by company, 2005 and 2007
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- Figure 22: Average fleet size, by company, 2005 and 2007
Brand Qualities
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- Customer satisfaction
- Loyalty clubs
Innovation and Innovators
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- Green initiatives
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- Figure 23: General attitudes toward environmental concerns, December 2007
- In-vehicle technology
- GPS
- Tolls
- Speed and ease of purchase
- Increased technology streamlining for rentals
- Custom collections
Advertising and Promotion
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- Overview
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- Figure 24: General media expenditures by selected car rental brands, 2005-06
- Avis Budget
- Avis
- Recent promotions—connecting with independent music lovers
- Web presence
- Television commercials—catering to those who enjoy the car rental experience
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- Figure 25: Avis Car Rental television ad: “Driveway,” March 2008
- Dollar Thrifty
- Advertising expenditures
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- Figure 26: Advertising expenditures, Dollar Thrifty Group, 2005-07
- Web presence
- Enterprise
- The Enterprise brand
- Web presence
- Case study: negative publicity
- Television commercials
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- Figure 27: Enterprise Car Rental “Friends Go On Trip” television ad, April 2007
- Figure 28: Enterprise Car Rental “Man Goes to Business Meeting” television ad, November 2007
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- Figure 29: Enterprise Car Rental “Pledge to Plant Trees” television ad, January 2008
- National
- Web presence
- Alamo
- Web presence
- Television commercials
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- Figure 30: Alamo Car Rental “Happy Trails” television ad, August 2007
- Hertz
- Web presence
- Television commercials
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- Figure 31: Hertz Car Rental “Forest Animals Driving Prius” television ad, November 2007
Car Rental Demographics
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- Key points
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- Figure 32: Incidence of car rentals, 2001-07
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- Figure 33: Incidence of car rentals in the past year, by demographic groups, May 2006-June 2007
Car Rental Frequency
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- Key points
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- Figure 34: Frequency of car rentals, by gender, May 2006-June 2007
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- Figure 35: Frequency of car rentals, by age, May 2006-June 2007
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- Figure 36: Frequency of car rentals, by income, May 2006-June 2007
Brand Selection and Car Rental Clubs
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- Key points
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- Figure 37: Brand selection of car rentals, May 2006-June 2007
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- Figure 38: Brand selection of car rentals, by gender, May 2006-June 2007
Frequency of Leisure Travel
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- Key points
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- Figure 39: Trips taken in the past year that involved a hotel stay, car rental, plane flight, or packaged tour, March 2008
- Figure 40: Trips taken in the past year that involved a hotel stay, car rental, plane flight, or packaged tour, by age, March 2008
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- Figure 41: Trips taken in the past year that involved a hotel stay, car rental, plane flight, or packaged tour, by income, March 2008
Length of Driving Time that Makes Flying Preferable
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- Key points
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- Figure 42: Length of driving time that makes flying preferable, by gender, March 2008
Main Reason for Car Rental
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- Key points
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- Figure 43: Purpose of most recent car rental, by income, March 2008
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- Figure 44: Purpose of most recent car rental, by age, March 2008
How Car Rentals are Booked
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- Key points
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- Figure 45: How car rentals are booked (usually or always), March 2008
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- Figure 46: How car rentals are booked (usually or always), by age, March 2008
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- Figure 47: How car rentals are booked (usually or always), by income, March 2008
Considerations that Lead to Rental
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- Key points
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- Figure 48: Considerations that lead to rental, by gender, March 2008
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- Figure 49: Considerations that lead to rental, by income, March 2008
Car Rental Attitudes
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- Key points
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- Figure 50: Car rental attitudes*, by gender, March 2008
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- Figure 51: Loyalty to certain car rental companies, March 2008
Rental Car Companies Used and Brand Perception
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- Key points
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- Figure 52: Rental car companies used, by age, March 2008
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- Figure 53: Car rental attitudes, March 2008
Consumers—Race and Ethnicity
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- Key points
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- Figure 54: Incidence of car rentals, by race/ethnicity, May 2006-June 2007
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- Figure 55: Number of car rentals in the past year, by race/ethnicity, March 2008
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- Figure 56: Frequency of car rentals, by race/ethnicity, May 2006-June 2007
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- Figure 57: Considerations that lead to rental, by race/ethnicity, March 2008
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- Figure 58: Purpose of most recent car rental, by race/ethnicity, March 2008
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- Figure 59: How car rentals are booked (usually or always), by race/ethnicity, March 2008
Cluster Analysis—Company Website Users and Car Rental Enthusiasts
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- Analysis and insights
- Demographic divide
- Attitude and behavior differences
- Opportunities
- Cluster characteristics
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- Figure 60: Car rental clusters, March 2008
- Figure 61: Main purpose of most recent car rental, by clusters, March 2008
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- Figure 62: Reservation channels (usually or always), by clusters, March 2008
- Figure 63: Criteria of consideration in car rental, by clusters, March 2008
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- Figure 64: Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with each of the following statements, by clusters, March 2008
- Figure 65: Please tell us whether you think each of the following attributes applies to each car rental company, cares for the environment or is socially responsible, by clusters, March 2008
- Cluster demographics
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- Figure 66: Car rental clusters, by gender, March 2008
- Figure 67: Car rental clusters, by age, March 2008
- Figure 68: Car rental clusters, by income, March 2008
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- Figure 69: Car rental clusters, by race, March 2008
- Figure 70: Car rental clusters, by Hispanic origin, March 2008
- Methodology
- This cluster analysis used four questions from Mintel’s custom research survey to create two clusters.
Custom Consumer Groups
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- Frequency of rental shows that men are more engaged
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- Figure 71: Number of car rentals in the past year, by gender and age, March 2008
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- Figure 72: Length of driving time that makes flying preferable, by gender, March 2008
- Method of rental driven by age and income; not as much by race/ethnicity
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- Figure 73: How car rentals are booked (usually or always), by race/ethnicity, March 2008
- Young women most likely to rent based on price; young men choose the driving experience
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- Figure 74: Considerations that lead to rental, by gender and age, March 2008
- Market hybrid rentals and enjoyment of driving a rental car to young adults
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- Figure 75: Car rental attitudes, by gender and age, March 2008
Appendix: Other Useful Consumer Tables
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- Number of leisure trips taken
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- Figure 76: Number of leisure trips taken in the past year, by race/ethnicity, March 2008
- Rental frequency—Mintel survey data
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- Figure 77: Number of car rentals in the past year, by gender, March 2008
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- Figure 78: Number of car rentals in the past year, by age, March 2008
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- Figure 79: Number of car rentals in the past year, by income, March 2008
- Main purpose of rental, by gender
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- Figure 80: Purpose of most recent car rental, by gender, March 2008
Appendix: Trade Associations
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